Hearts boss addresses Blackpool’s rejected bid for ex-Barnsley man Toby Sibbick

The Seasiders had a six-figure bid rejected for the 23-year-old, reported to be in the region of £400,000.

According to the BBC, Blackpool's bid falls way short of Hearts' valuation of the player.

“He’s a very, very important player for us,” Neilson told Sky Sports, when asked about Blackpool’s rejected offer.

“Any player we have at this football club who is at Toby’s level has a value and that value didn’t get matched, so he’ll stay here and I hope that’s at least until the end of the season because we need him.

“The whole process is about building a team. There’s no point bringing people in in the summer and then six months later flipping them for money we don’t believe they are valued at.

“We are building a team around key players and, at the moment, Toby is one of those key players.”

Our sister paper the Edinburgh News claim Blackpool’s offer was “instantly dismissed” by the SPL side.

The offer comes after Sibbick, a defender, scored in Hearts’ Edinburgh derby win against Hibernian at the weekend.

Hearts value Sibbick highly after his rapid development this season and have no intention of selling him, according to the report.

New Blackpool boss Mick McCarthy is thought to be a big admirer of the player having watched him at former club Barnsley.

It remains to be seen whether the Seasiders will return with a higher officer for the 23-year-old, but Hearts are certainly reluctant to let him leave.

Sibbick only joined Hearts from Barnsley last January and signed a three-and-a-half-year contract. He is considered a long-term asset with the potential to develop more with greater experience in the Scottish league.

The Seasiders are likely to be on the lookout for another centre-back between now and the end of the transfer window despite recently bringing in Charlie Goode on loan from Brentford.

Marvin Ekpiteta is sidelined with a hamstring injury and is likely to be out until the end of February, while Rhys Williams recently returned to Liverpool.